The first plastic, Bakelite, (07/12/1909)based on a synthetic polymer was made from phenol and formaldehyde, was invented , by Leo Hendrik Baekeland, who found that combining phenol (C6H5OH) and formaldehyde (HCOH) formed a sticky mass and later found that the material could be mixed with wood flour, asbestos, or slate dust to create strong and fire resistant "composite" materials; the new material tended to foam during synthesis, requiring that Baekeland build pressure vessels to force out the bubbles and provide a smooth, uniform product, as he announced in 1909, in a meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic#Bakelite
Irina CNMV Bucharest
The first plastic, Bakelite, (07/12/1909)based on a synthetic polymer was made from phenol and formaldehyde, was invented , by Leo Hendrik Baekeland, who found that combining phenol (C6H5OH) and formaldehyde (HCOH) formed a sticky mass and later found that the material could be mixed with wood flour, asbestos, or slate dust to create strong and fire resistant "composite" materials; the new material tended to foam during synthesis, requiring that Baekeland build pressure vessels to force out the bubbles and provide a smooth, uniform product, as he announced in 1909, in a meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic#Bakelite